Tyler Matzek once saved a school of dolphins who were guiding a ship full of orphans to shore. It must be good karma that got him out of an ugly fifth inning Tuesday when the Padres should have broken the game open.

After the Rockies scored twice in the fourth to tie the game at 2-2, Matzek put them an another hole quickly to start the fifth against the bottom of San Diego’s lineup. He walked Clint Barmes on six pitches. Then he walked Brandon Morrow on five pitches — it was the first time in Morrow’s nine-year career he’s even been on base.

Matzek allowed four base runners in the fifth. And none scored. Matt Kemp grounded into a double play to kill the inning. Matzek walked six and struck out three. He left after the fifth with a 5-2 lead.

But the Rockies are riding a thin line of trouble with their starting pitchers.

After going 0-for-5 on Friday in his first game at Coors Field since the Rockies traded him to Houston for Jordan Lyles and Brandon Barnes two years ago, Fowler finally remembered the high altitude as the Cubs took down the Rockies 9-5.

“I like triples. But my first triple, I was over there breathing hard,” Fowler said. “I told Nolan (Arenado), ‘I forgot about running here.’ So the next one, I braced myself for it. But I can’t slow down.”

Colorado Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa is hoping to rejoin the Rockies’ rotation for Tuesday’s game at San Francisco. (Ben Margot, The Associated Press)

Lefty Jorge De La Rosa took a step toward joining the Rockies’ rotation. Was it a big enough step? That remains to be seen. He is tentatively scheduled to start Tuesday night at San Francisco.

De La Rosa pitched four innings and gave up one run in an injury rehab start for Triple-A Albuquerque against Reno Thursday night.

De La Rosa, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin, gave up four hits — including a Peter O’Brien solo homer in the second inning — struck out three and walked two. He threw 57 pitches, 38 for strikes.

“I felt good, I threw all of my pitches, but my fastball command wasn’t sharp,” he said Friday morning before the Rockies home opener vs. the Cubs at Coors Field.

It stood to reason that a committee of Rockies relievers going against National League Cy Young candidate Johnny Cueto was a severe mismatch Friday at Coors Field. Colorado’s bullpen carries a 4.91 ERA this season, second-worst in baseball. Cueto entered with a 2.05 ERA.

Only, that’s not how the snappy, wacky and well-played game unfolded. The Rockies — behind a six-man rotation of Matt Belisle, Nick Masset, Juan Nicasio, Rex Brothers, Boone Logan and Adam Ottavino — allowed just three runs on 11 hits. They nearly propped the Rockies up enough to topple Cueto.

It was the best collective bullpen performance of the season for Colorado. With Franklin Morales (himself a spot starter filling in an injured rotation) out with a wife in labor, Walt Weiss started Belisle instead. It was his first start since 2008.

So he held a 10-15 minute team meeting Saturday before the Rockies played the Diamondbacks.

As Weiss notes in the above video, he’s not a big fan of the dreaded “team meeting.” He talks with his players before almost every series to preview the opposition, but he gets other points across as well.

In this case, Weiss wanted to send a strong message that he expects the team to play the game, not only hard, but the right way.

In his first start since coming off the disabled list after breaking his left hand in early June, Rockies starting pitcher Jordan Lyles worked six innings against the Cubs at Coors Field. (David Zalubowski, The Associated Press)

Jordan Lyles missed 54 games and 69 days while recovering from a broken left hand. It was his glove hand. His pitching hand was fine. So he figured, why not use that downtime to womp up new pitch?

Lyles returned to Coors Field on Wednesday with a brand new out pitch. While he returned to the Rockies rotation, his changed changeup made its debut.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado fields a ground ball in the third inning against the Pirates on Friday at Coors Field. (Chris Schneider, The Associated Press)

Nolan Arenado was benched by Rockies manager Walt Weiss on Friday in the fourth inning after he ran slow through a ground out against the Pirates at Coors Field.

“We talk a lot about playing the game hard and playing the game right. And how important that is,” Weiss said. “Especially when you’ve been getting your ass kicked for awhile. It’s even more important then. It’s imperative.”

Arenado’s check swing in the fourth sent the ball hopping about 10 feet. It was frustrating swing after he already grounded out in the second inning. But this one was bobbled off the glove of Pirates pitcher Charlie Morton and Arenado had a chance to beat out the throw.

Let’s set aside for a minute the Rockies’ four-game losing skid amid 22 games lost over a 26-game stretch. Something positive happened Saturday despite another loss, this time a 3-2 extra-inning defeat to the Pirates.

Colorado starter, lefty Brett Anderson, finally gave the Rockies something they haven’t seen since May.

The 28-year-old, who played 10 years in the minors before debuting last week against the Cardinals, pitched in just his second game Monday. He’s the 12th pitcher (most in MLB) to start for the Rockies this season. But he pitched well, throwing 5 1/3 innings with six hits, three earned runs and three strike outs against one walk.

Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado slides into second base and breaks his finger Friday night in Atlanta in Colorado’s 3-2 loss to the Braves. (Scott Cunningham, Getty Images)

ATLANTA — After a very tough Friday night, Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado was trying to find some sunshine Saturday morning.

The 23-year-old suffered a fractured left middle finger while sliding headfirst into second base during the second inning against the Braves Friday night. The diagnosis is a left mallet finger fracture, an injury that will sideline Arenado four to six weeks, or perhaps even longer.

“When I slid into the bag, I kind of knew I broke it,” Arenado said Saturday morning. “It didn’t feel good and it started tightening up. So I just had a bad feeling about it.

“Mentally, it hurts. Just being part of these guys, and then something like this happens. I mean, this is a big road trip and I wanted to be a big part of this. But it is what it is.

“I just feel like I kind of let these guys down. We have always had adversity on this team, but it was always with somebody else and now it’s me.”

Colorado Rockies pitcher Franklin Morales throws against the Chicago White Sox in the seventh inning on April 8, 2014 at Coors Field in Denver. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Franklin Morales surrendered a career-high nine hits over five innings Saturday against the Mets. And there were times when, as New York ticked off six runs in the first three innings, it appeared it would be a short day for the Rockies pitcher.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.